My parents threw me one birthday party when I was around 4 years old. I don’t remember much from the party except that it was an exceptionally sunny and cheery day. I remember running around outside with my friends, and that is about it. I am certain there was a cake and gifts.
I don’t think we played any games, and there certainly weren’t any party favors. Were there balloons? Maybe… Streamers? Doubt it. I am the youngest of three children, born in the mid 70’s, so I am betting my mom kept things fairly simple.
I just survived planning and executing my oldest daughter’s 6th birthday party. It took me one full month to put the whole bash together. I had big plans for her this year, big plans. You see, last year for her 5th party I really tried to knock it out of the park.
At the time she was really into the Disney princesses and fairies of Pixie Hollow. So, I tied the two ideas together and created a princess/fairy theme birthday party for her. (See pictures here of her Royal Gala: http://www.tableof4please.com/2010/06/royal-gala.html)
My husband said to me after I survived planning and executing that party, “How are you ever going to top this one?” I thought to myself, I can’t. No way. That, my friends, was my swan song. I was proud of what I put together for her. I thought some of my ideas were quite unique, like having the girls walk down a red carpet on our driveway. I thought, how much more creative can I get?
So the pressure was off of me. I convinced myself that there was nothing better that I could put together to dazzle her. I was wrong.
Each month I teach my girls about a famous artist. Back in March I started reading about Frida Kahlo. I became enamored with her. Even though I didn’t have Frida on our home-schooling schedule to teach my girls, I decided to talk about her with my oldest daughter anyway. Sydney, my oldest child, became enamored with Frida, too. She loved the fact that she wore flowers in her hair, loved that she wore 20 rings at a time, loved that she lived in a house known as “casa azul.” Sydney and I would just sit and look at Frida’s art and talk about her for long periods of time.
So, one morning at the end of March I asked Sydney if she would like her 6th birthday party to be a Frida Kahlo theme birthday party. The girl about jumped out of her skin, she was so excited. “YES!”, she exclaimed. OK, so a Frida theme it is! My daughter’s birthday is at the beginning of June. I had plenty of time to brainstorm.
I found another mother on the internet who planned a Frida theme party for her 8-year-old. She made an incredible Frida Kahlo piñata. I thought, yeah, I can do that… only thing is I’ve never done papier-mâché before. I then went onto Etsy.com (a website that makes homemade items) and typed in “Frida Kahlo.” There were these remarkable 4 ” wooden Frida Kahlo dolls that were $45. Ridiculous! I was not about to pay $45 for one 4″ wooden doll. I decided that I was capable enough and had enough time to research and prepare to make papier-mâché Frida Kahlo dolls.
So, off to the library I went. I went to the children’s section of the library and checked out books on papier-mâché. I came home, read the books and was amazed at how extremely simple papier-mâché seemed to be. Was it simple, you bet ya! It was so super easy, yet, very messy.
I made a large Frida doll and four small Frida dolls. Take that $45 wooden dolls! After the papier-mâché dried, I painted them using acrylic paint.
Being that it was my first time ever trying papier-mâché, I was quite pleased with the outcome. So much so that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to take them down. They are my first real attempt at making art and now these Fridas are such a part of me.
Now that the Fridas were done, what else was I going to do? Since Frida was born in Mexico, I decided to make homemade papel picados out of tissue paper to decorate the entire house. I had no idea how to make papel picados. I went onto youtube and found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjSU9E-KI48. They made making the papel picados a real snap. The papel picados were colorful and added such an authentic touch to the party.
I really wanted to add more of a personal touch to the party. Frida was known for wearing flowers in her hair. I went to Christmas Tree shop spent $2 and got 12 headbands. I then went to a local craft shop and purchased fake flowers.
I went home and used a glue gun, for the first time mind you! Well, let me tell you, a glue gun is AWESOME! If you are thinking of crafting, get one, get one, get one! My two girls loved these homemade flower headbands. They thought they were so fancy. Let me tell you, they were a piece of cake to make.
Another personal touch I added was making homemade Mexican flag place-mats. I taped green, white and red construction together. Then, I printed off the coat of arms of Mexico and taped it on the place-mats. Simple craft and a nice nod to Frida’s homeland.
One of the last crafts I worked on for the party was painting Popsicle sticks a variety of colors. I used my handy glue gun and glued them together to make small painter easels. I purchased Frida postcards and put them on the little easels to decorate the party.
Finally, I bought 10 blank canvases for the girls to paint their self-portraits during the party. I instructed the girls how to paint their own self-portrait… Frida-style! Frida was known for painting her self-portrait, and the girls had the opportunity to actually become Frida. They loved doing this, and it was such a pleasure to stand and watch them all just create!
The party was a huge success. My daughter told me it was one of the best days of her life. Her larger than life smile on her face the whole day made every late night for a solid month completely worth while.
Did I knock it out of the park? According to one little 6-year-old, I did, and that is all that matters. Will she remember this day? I am certain she will. Will she remember all of the small details of the party, probably not.
Would she have been happy with just friends, a sunny day and some balloons? Yes, of course she would. But, I am one of those artsy moms, I’ve found my inner creative energy bursting out of me these last two years. I have no desire to bottle that up! If you are interested in viewing some of the pictures from the party, click here: http://www.tableof4please.com/2011/06/frida-kahlo-theme-birthday-fiesta.html. Viva la Frida!!
What do you do to celebrate your child’s birthday? Do you think parents these days go overboard planning their children’s birthday parties?
This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Courtney Cappallo of Massachusetts, USA. Courtney can be found homeschooling on her blog, Table of Four.
The photographs used in this post are attributed to the author.
Wow, kudos to you for doing all that work, and I’m glad your daughter had such a great day! Parties in my house are a much more casual deal, although I do like getting a bit fancy with the cake!
Kirsten
Running for autism ~ I had such a fun time planning the party! I was just as excited for the party as she was! ha!! I’ll have to try making a cake one year, I’ve never, ever made one. I tip my hat to you for making fancy cakes!
We kept the parties fairly simple the first few years. For her second birthday we had just family over, but I still tied in her favorite book, which at the time was “Blueberries for Sal.” The party was “Blueberries for Syd.” Everything was blue… the balloons, we had blueberry pie instead of cake, I served blueberry muffins, gave all the family their own tin pail, like the one the main character in the book carried. Sydney also wore a dress with blueberries on it.
For her third party I tied the theme in with her then favorite “Fancy Nancy.” It was a “Fancy Sydney” party. We actually had her little friends come over for that. My girlfriend down the street did face painting for us. I had all the kids wear silly, fancy clothes. It was fun and very simple.
For her 4th birthday we didn’t do a party. My husband and I took her and her baby sister to the Children’s Museum in Boston. For her 5th was the Royal Gala party I mentioned in the article and for her 6th was the Frida Kahlo theme.
As you can tell, I am a bit flamboyant when it comes to parties! 😉
Wow, kudos to you for doing all that work, and I’m glad your daughter had such a great day! Parties in my house are a much more casual deal, although I do like getting a bit fancy with the cake!
Kirsten
Wow, that’s amazing! And what a cool thing for a 6-year-old to learn about and celebrate with.
We were just talking about birthday parties with friends the other day. It seems like people are doing outrageous things for their kids’ parties when they’re only 1 or 2. Renting a whole space and having all kinds of games and clowns and bouncy castles. Most of the kids can’t even enjoy it, never mind remember it. It just another aspect of the mom-petition and not something I care to compete in.
I think the better option is to do something that’s meaningful (and manageable) for you. If you like crafts and want to do something like that, I think that’s so great. My son turned 3 last week and we just did fun stuff on the day and then had family over for dinner and cake. We got a bunch of balloons – that he got to pick – and he thought that was pretty cool. We haven’t ever done an actual birthday party for him – we team up with mom friends whose kids all have birthdays within a month and we do a big party on Canada Day. Great way to celebrate all the kids and have fun with the families.
That was this year though. We’ve got a lot going on and doing more seemed like too much. I think next year we’ll have to bring out the party planning and jack it up a notch 😉
Mama Robin ~ Thanks for taking the time to comment on my article. My oldest daughter sure did learn a lot about Frida and to this day spends time looking at her paintings in her Frida Kahlo art book. She told me yesterday when she grows up she wants to be an artist.
I really love planning parties, gives me the opportunity to get artsy and creative! Prior to this Frida party I tied in two of her other birthday parties in with her favorite books at the time of her birthday….. 2nd birthday was “Blueberries for Syd” (from the “Blueberries for Sal” book) / 3rd was “Fancy Sydney” based off of “Fancy Nancy.” Those parties were much more casual. These last two years I’ve put a lot more effort and time into planning the parties.
I think parents should do what will make them (and their children) happy. Do what works best for you. It’s not a competition with other parents, or at least it shouldn’t be!
Mama Robin ~ Thanks for taking the time to comment on my article. My oldest daughter sure did learn a lot about Frida and to this day spends time looking at her paintings in her Frida Kahlo art book. She told me yesterday when she grows up she wants to be an artist.
I really love planning parties, gives me the opportunity to get artsy and creative! Prior to this Frida party I tied in two of her other birthday parties in with her favorite books at the time of her birthday….. 2nd birthday was “Blueberries for Syd” (from the “Blueberries for Sal” book) / 3rd was “Fancy Sydney” based off of “Fancy Nancy.” Those parties were much more casual. These last two years I’ve put a lot more effort and time into planning the parties.
I think parents should do what will make them (and their children) happy. Do what works best for you. It’s not a competition with other parents, or at least it shouldn’t be!
Wow that’s impressive. Our parties tend to be pretty casual so it was good to hear a different way of doing things. I love that you worked with an interest of Sydney’s – she will remember that, for sure. 🙂
Thanks Karyn! The mothers/fathers told me that they framed their children’s self-portraits they painted at the Frida party. That was really nice to hear. One of the little girls at the party was wearing her flower headband around the neighborhood today. It made me smile to see my creation still be enjoyed!
What a great story! Very creative and out of the box in every way. And speaking as a parent who has attended a ton of birthday parties at generic bouncy house places, I would also love a break to attend something creative with my child. (That’s not a knock on generic bouncy house places…as I have had 2 parties there for my son as well). For my 1st son, we threw themed parties at our home for his first 4 years. Like you, I love planning…coming up with food, decorations, activities, etc. My favorite was his 4th birthday “Colossal Fossil” party, where we had make-your-own-fossil crafts (using cut up construction paper, crayons, and dinosaur stickers), assemble a wooden dinosaur to take home (bought dino skeleton puzzles in bulk at a local craft store for cheap), hunt down your own dinosaur in our backyard (again…bought in bulk these inflatable dinosaurs and labelded each one with a kid’s name. They got mini magnifying glasses and were sent out back like paleontologists to find their dinosoaur), and watch a volcanic euption (one oft those science kits). I made a volcano cake by baking different size chocolate bunk cakes, stacking them, and adding red frosting as lava. Truly, it didn’t cost much and the kids had lots to do at the party as well as unique keepsakes to take home. Once my son turned 5 and was in school, we decided to take the party elsewhere for the time being rather than bring everyone into our home. But I was so excited for my second son’s 1st birthday party this year (train themed). I think it’s about doing what is fun and natural for your family. If you are happy and celebratory, whether it’s a big shindig or small family dinner at home, your child will feel special and loved. Happy birthday to your little one! (and PS – have your read Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Lacuna”? It’s fiction, but the main character lives with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera for a big portion of the novel. Very well done).
Thanks Tara. I would have loved to have been at your sons dinosaur party. That sounds right up my alley! So creative! I found this website after I planned Sydney’s party. Parents from all over the world submit pictures of their children’s parties and the website posts them. Truly amazing some of these parties! I’d like to attend each and every one! Here is the link: http://www.saraspartyperfect.com/
This website is AWESOME! I especially love that there is a tab for “parties for adults.” The truth is, while I love having theme parties for my kids, it’s just as much for me as them. I would love to throw more theme parties in general. Even if I have a summer BBQ, I always want to find ways to make it different or special. Thanks for passing this along.
Wow, that’s mighty impressive! It’s great that you enjoy planning the party and doing the crafts for it. You can even make a career of it!
Me, on the other hand? I actually wrote a post about dreading children’s parties. Not that I’m a party pooper or anything. I’m more ‘opposed’ to parties for 1 or 2 year olds, where all they care about is their next snack and nap. It’s just too stressful for me to attend them 😉
For my son’s 1st birthday, we did nothing. We took pictures and that’s it. For his 2nd birthday coming up in 6 months, we will probably also do nothing. Maybe except take him out to a park to play and take more pictures. It’s ironic really, because I used to plan events for a living!
Alison, thanks for your kind words. I was a Director of Marketing for Simon Property Group prior to having children. One of my responsibilities was to plan and execute marketing events. I am grateful for the experience, as it helped me planned my children’s birthday parties. lol!!!
My youngest daughter is two-years-old. For her first birthday we celebrated with family and for her 2nd birthday we took her and her big sister to a beautiful apple orchard, Parlee Farms (http://www.parleefarms.com/). Her birthday is in September which made celebrating her birthday at the apple orchard perfect. Here is a link to what we did for her 2nd birthday: http://www.tableof4please.com/2010/09/golden-delicious-turns-2.html
My youngest daughter turns 3 in Sept. She really loves Jessie and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 2 & Toy Story 3. That said, I am considering buying the Jessie and Buzz costume for my husband and I to wear to surprise her on her birthday. We do outdoor movie nights for the neighborhood kids in the summer; I am thinking of tying in one of the Toy Story movies with those two characters to celebrate her birthday. I would totally make a PERFECT Jessie. I’ve got a lot of spunk to me and my husband is SO Buzz Lightyear! 😉 We’ll see what happens between now and Sept.
Wow, that’s mighty impressive! It’s great that you enjoy planning the party and doing the crafts for it. You can even make a career of it!
Me, on the other hand? I actually wrote a post about dreading children’s parties. Not that I’m a party pooper or anything. I’m more ‘opposed’ to parties for 1 or 2 year olds, where all they care about is their next snack and nap. It’s just too stressful for me to attend them 😉
For my son’s 1st birthday, we did nothing. We took pictures and that’s it. For his 2nd birthday coming up in 6 months, we will probably also do nothing. Maybe except take him out to a park to play and take more pictures. It’s ironic really, because I used to plan events for a living!
Alison, thanks for your kind words. I was a Director of Marketing for Simon Property Group prior to having children. One of my responsibilities was to plan and execute marketing events. I am grateful for the experience, as it helped me planned my children’s birthday parties. lol!!!
My youngest daughter is two-years-old. For her first birthday we celebrated with family and for her 2nd birthday we took her and her big sister to a beautiful apple orchard, Parlee Farms (http://www.parleefarms.com/). Her birthday is in September which made celebrating her birthday at the apple orchard perfect. Here is a link to what we did for her 2nd birthday: http://www.tableof4please.com/2010/09/golden-delicious-turns-2.html
My youngest daughter turns 3 in Sept. She really loves Jessie and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story 2 & Toy Story 3. That said, I am considering buying the Jessie and Buzz costume for my husband and I to wear to surprise her on her birthday. We do outdoor movie nights for the neighborhood kids in the summer; I am thinking of tying in one of the Toy Story movies with those two characters to celebrate her birthday. I would totally make a PERFECT Jessie. I’ve got a lot of spunk to me and my husband is SO Buzz Lightyear! 😉 We’ll see what happens between now and Sept.
I love the Frida party!!! Great ideas and so much fun!! Love, love, love!!!!!!
Thanks Maggie! I love Frida, too!
I think it’s great that you and your daughter found a unique interest, and you are running with it!
Love the party pics, too!
Jen 🙂
Thanks Jen… we are two artists at heart!
I think it’s great that you and your daughter found a unique interest, and you are running with it!
Love the party pics, too!
Jen 🙂
Thanks Jen… we are two artists at heart!
Wow! I barely remember my b-day parties from my childhood if I had any. This year I barely did something to my one year old. I came to US and I’ve learned that 1st b-day party is huge, with so many guests, and a cake, and gifts, and food, and OMG… I just couldn’t do that. I was so afraid. I knew that I have to, but at the same time I knew I won’t be able. I was going through a terrible PPD period. I barely could cook a dinner for my husband or move from my couch.
Btw a few days after is my b-day, so my husband was planning a surprise party for both of us. When I figured it out I got so mad at him! I didn’t want anybody to see me and I didn’t want to deal with people. At the end we just bougth an ice cream cake for her and we had a little b-day party for 3 +dog 🙂 And it was such a beautiful day!
For both of my girls 1st birthday parties we had family over. It was the first time they both had any real sweets. As you can imagine, they loved their cakes!! I think keeping it a small party for children who are really young (1 & 2 especially) is a wise choice. Too much over stimulation and chaos would most likely overwhelm them.
My birthday is five days before my youngest daughter too! My wedding anniversary is in between our birthdays as well, so we have a lot going on in the month of September!
Have you written about your PPD? I’d be interested in reading it. If you have, forward me the link. If you haven’t I look forward to reading your thoughts. I am sure it was a very hard time for you. It sounds like you have a very supportive husband and that is a wonderful thing! Healthy baby, supportive husband is the recipe for a GREAT life!!
oh now… I haven’t been writing about PPD. I talk about it with a few moms from #ppdchat on twitter, but nothing more. My PPD is not over, yet. There are days I can barely get up, and sometimes (like the last few weeks) you wouldn’t say I’m depressed… Ups and downs… Gotta watch those days then my mood is goind down, and take an action to prevent going even into the deeper sadness. Most of the time it’s my husband who sees those days and moments… and he always tries to do something to change it.
And YES, he is very supportive!
hugs,
Wow, I deeply admire your artsiness and how you go above and beyond in teaching your children. My boys birthday parties have consisted of Chuck E Cheese or a simple party at home. I just do not have that creative gene. Your daughter is certainly going to remember her birthday party!
Margie B. – thanks for your kind words. Chuck E Cheese parties are lots of fun from my memories of being a kid! I think when the birthday girl or boy feels like she/he is being honored on her/his than they will love whatever happens to them on their special day!
Wow, I deeply admire your artsiness and how you go above and beyond in teaching your children. My boys birthday parties have consisted of Chuck E Cheese or a simple party at home. I just do not have that creative gene. Your daughter is certainly going to remember her birthday party!
Margie B. – thanks for your kind words. Chuck E Cheese parties are lots of fun from my memories of being a kid! I think when the birthday girl or boy feels like she/he is being honored on her/his than they will love whatever happens to them on their special day!
I think parents in our generation go overboard with a lot of things when it comes to their kids. Never before has a generation of children been so attended to by their parents, so played with, so managed and so hovered over. Yet these same parents walk a fine line between over-involvement with their kids lives and hands-off parenting. As much as my kids enjoy going to parties at gymnastic centers or fun zones, it bums me out that very little has been done on the parents’ part aside from writing a big check, total hands off. On the other-hand, home grown parties, even with so much time and attention poured into them, sometimes fall flat.
Since our daughter was born on Earth Day, I’ve tried to tie this theme into all of her parties but I’m not as creative as you (nor is our daughter as artistic as Sydney). Last year we had her party at our community organic farm and the activities included visiting and petting all of the farm animals and painting terra cotta flower pots, which we planted with a pansy and sent home as the favor. It went great! But this year, the theme was a woodland tea party and we made plans to use the little school house (Gnome Home) in the woods where she attends nature preschool. I rested on the laurels that the weather would be good, I’d take the kids on a hike, they’d play with the outdoor activities around the Gnome Home and then go in for tea and cupcakes. Naturally, the weather was crap, cold and wet, and the kids were forced to stay inside the small one-room school house for the two hour party.
Needless to say, by the end my husband and I better appreciated the gymnastic and bouncy castle parties we’d witnessed. We also concluded that having back up activities or crafts that you can pull out of your hat in an emergency is a REALLY smart move. Way to go on the unique and beautiful party!
Growingmuses – I love the idea of tying in Earth Day to your daughter’s parties. How thoughtful of you! I feel for you on the woodland tea party… weather makes all the difference in the world! We live in MA and my daughter’s birthday is early June, the weather tends to be so fickle. I try as hard as I can not to check the weather a week out before her parties b/c it will set me in a bad mood if it is calling for rain! The one thing you can’t control, which is weather, has a hand in playing such a major factor in how smoothly the party rolls!